Contrary to popular belief, neither side of the U.S. Civil War was really into “freedom”. They were both fighting for the power to control other people. This tends to get skipped over in modern discussions, since the current culture war…
On Reparations: You Cannot Right A Historical Wrong
I’m going to ignore the other problems with the idea of slavery reparations for the moment and focus on just one: It is simply too late for the United States to make reparations for slavery. To be reparations, anything the…
Former: The Most Important Word In Government Titles
The most important thing to keep in mind about having a role in the State is that it ends, and then you go home and you’re just another citizen again. This is really important. My father, with whom I agree…
Abortion: Ignoring The Real Problem
Abortion’s legality is not a problem that should be addressed directly; there is an underlying problem that should to be solved instead. At what point does a new human come into existence? For any of you who aren’t familiar with…
Just Too Much: We’re Gonna Have to Invade Russia
Putin’s ambition of re-conquering all the domains of the Imperial and Soviet Russias appears to have run up against a truly immovable resistance. That’s good; his project is abominable. But even before the recent pictures from Bucha made soft-pedaling the…
Defend Ukraine: But That’s Not Defending Freedom
I’m on-record as thinking we should be doing far more to defend Ukraine from the Russian invasion. See, for example, the previous post: Ukraine: Standing With Or Just Standing Behind. But not under the banner of “defending freedom”. Because by…
Ukraine: Standing With Or Just Standing Behind
“I Stand With Ukraine” is quite a popular phrase at the moment. But, for the most part, it’s a pretty hollow expression. It’s basically a show of approval, and certainly there’s a lot to approve of in how the people…
My Way: Calls For “Unity” Are Inherently Autocratic
This focus on “unity” and “divisiveness” is flat-out unhealthy for a democracy and really needs to stop. “Unity” just means “you all should do what I want”. What else could it mean? The person calling for unity is never offering…
Endemic Failure: Rapid COVID Tests Don’t Work Very Well
The cornerstone of any “endemic COVID” concept, including California’s newly-announced not-yet-a-plan, will have to be testing. Lots and lots of testing. And more effective testing than we’ve managed to do so far. For example, the local school district runs weekly…
Political Party Time: Ezra Klein Is Wrong About A Thing
It’s not really surprising that I’d think that, mind; I see Klein as kind of a squishy centrist’s idea of what a liberal firebrand looks like so I often think he’s wrong about things. This time he’s wrong about something…